School Technical Ideas

Former Governors Jeb Bush and Bob Wise used an appearance on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight Wednesday to announce the creation of a national “Digital Learning Day” and gain some publicity for a “Roadmap to Reform” document published by their joint effort, Digital Learning Now.

Bush, a former Republican Gov. of Florida and current chairman of the Tallahassee, Fla.-based Foundation for Excellence in Education, touched on the need for modernization in American education during his interview where he also weighed in on the Republican presidential debates and why he himself was not seeking the presidency.

On technology in education, Bush told Morgan: “I think our country has rested on its laurels. The things we’ve relied on culturally, and politically, and economically, we’ve not adjusted them to the new realities. The new realities are technology has changed our lives forever, the world’s moving faster, we’re in a globalized economy, we have new challenges economically that never in our wildest dreams we could’ve ever imagined a generation ago, and yet the institutions, mostly public, that we’ve asked to be able to equip us have been mired in the past.”

Wise, a former Democratic Governor of West Virginia and current president of the Washington-based Alliance for Excellent Education, then joined Bush to announce the launch of “Digital Learning Day,” set for Feb. 1, 2012, with support from a host of regular players in the ed-tech commercial field, including Google, Intel, SMART Technologies, Epsilen, GlobalScholar, and the Pearson Foundation. Specific initiatives related to the day are unclear so far.

“We’re encouraging teachers and educators across the nation to either showcase what they’re already doing in digital learning, online learning, software application, whatever it is that’s working,” Wise said of the day, “as well as those schools and teachers and educators that aren’t using digital learning, [asking] what can you do that day to promote it.”

Bush and Wise have been quite effective in gaining publicity for their message, with last night’s appearance on CNN the latest in a string of television, print, and online media appearances. It’s unclear, however, whether and how all the exposure will lead to significant change, and whether Bush and Wise can be the right leaders to mobilize districts to change.

It’s been nearly a year since Bush and Wise teamed up to launch Digital Learning Now, a national campaign advocating 10 key state-level policy changes it says are necessary to give students adequate access to quality digital content and prepare them for the contemporary workplace. The movement has since issued state-by-state report cards addressing progress made in each category, and today has followed that with a roadmap document it claims can help guide states to making those 10 changes effectively.

Organizations like the State Educational Technology Directors’ Association, the Consortium for School Networking, and the International Association for K-12 Online Learning all signed on to the effort. But notably absent were either the National Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions, with then-NEA executive director John I. Wilson calling the suggestions “corporate” and lacking legitimate teacher input.

The future of our society depends on our gifted childrenthe population in which well find our next Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, or Virginia Woolf. Yet the gifts and talents of some of our most brilliant kids may never be recognized because these children fall into a group known as twice exceptional, or 2e. Twice exceptional kids are both gifted and diagnosed with a disabilityoften ADHD or an Autism Spectrum Disorderleading teachers and parents to overlook the childs talents and focus solely on his weaknesses. Too often, these children get lost in an endless cycle of chasing diagnostic labels and are never given the tools to fully realize their own potential. Bright Not Broken sheds new light on this vibrant population by identifying who twice exceptional children are and taking an unflinching look at why theyre stuck. The first work to boldly examine the widespread misdiagnosis and controversies that arise from our current diagnostic system, it serves as a wake-up call for parents and professionals to question why our mental health and education systems are failing our brightest children. Most importantly, the authors show what we can do to help 2e children, providing a whole child model for parents and educators to strengthen and develop a childs innate gifts while also intervening to support the deficits. Drawing on painstaking research and personal experience, Bright Not Broken offers groundbreaking insight and practical strategies to those seeking to help 2e kids achieve their full potential. Diane M. Kennedy, author of The ADHD-Autism Connection, is a long time advocate, international speaker/trainer, and mother of three twice-exceptional sons. Rebecca S. Banks, M.A., co-author of The ADHD-Autism Connection, is a veteran educator, national speaker/trainer, and mother of two twice-exceptional children. Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is a professor, prolific author, and one of the most accomplished and renowned adults with autism in the world.

Who cares?  That should be the operative question on your mind as you tackle Data Sufficiency problems.

Heres what I mean:  Suppose I ask you the question What is x?  I then give you a statement that says 2,346.456 x + 87,234 = 912,347π.  Is the statement sufficient?

Yes, youd say (hopefully!).

But do you know what x is? Id respond back.

And what would you say?  Yup, you got it:  Who cares?!

All we care about is the ability to find x.  We dont care what x actually is.  Because the statement gives us a simple linear equation with only one variable, we have the ability to find the value of that variable, and thats all that matters.

This seems a pretty elementary point in and of itself, but its one that many students often forget when out in the field tackling tough DS problems.  Specifically on Geometry DS problems, the temptation can be to plug numbers into formulas and tackle the problem as if it were a PS question.  But often times, this is completely unnecessary and a tremendous waste of time.  Many times, you can solve Geometry DS problems intuitively using common sense and simple logic.  But it all hinges on the ability to identify exactly what information you need.

Lets take a look at the following official DS problem:

Stop!  Dont write any formulas!  Its great if you know the formula for the volume of a right circular cylinder, and that might come in handy on PS problems and maybe a more intricate DS problem.  But lets take a moment to think about what information is really necessary here.  We want to know what the surface area of that band is.  Ask yourself:  Whats keeping us from knowing that?  Whats missing?

Well, we cant very well know the surface area if we dont know how wide the cylinder is.  What determines how wide it is?  Radius!  And if we know radius, we also know circumference.  But is that enough?  Nope.  We also dont know how high x is.  So the two missing pieces of info can be boiled down to:  x = ?  and r = ?

This makes perfect sense when you think about it.  How can you know the surface area of something if you dont know its dimensions?  In this case, the two dimensions are the circumference around the cylinder (which can be determined by radius) and the height of the band, and we need both to get the surface area.

Now that weve figured out intuitively what information we need, lets look at the statements:

Statement (1) gives us the value of x.  Greatnothing about the radius, though.  Insufficient.

Statement (2) gives us the height of the entire cylinder.  Greatnothing about either the radius or the value of x.  Insufficient.

Statements (1) and (2) together give us the height of the entire cylinder and the value of x.  Awesome.wheres the value of the radius?  Still nowhere to be found.  Answer:  E.

We didnt write down a single equation, and yet we still got out of the problem quickly and with the correct answer.

Now, try your intuitive skills on this other official DS geometry problem.  Remember, try to do it without equations!  Use your common sense!  And post your step-by-step intuitive solutions in the comments!



Many people think that getting an online college degree is difficult. It is for people who cannot discipline themselves, miss deadlines, and take on too much work. For those who enjoy the benefits that online colleges have to offer, however, they will find that they like the pace of the online degree. Extramarital families can take grants for single mothers and spend that money on their children’s education.

Before you attempt an online college degree, you should make sure that you are good with computers and that you enjoy the format of online classes.

What are the pitfalls of online classes? Surprisingly, there are only a few and they are outweighed by the benefits. The online degree tests can mostly be taken online. This depends on what college you get accepted into. For those who are seeking a degree, most find that they like the flexibility the online degree has to offer.

Many people think best late at night and they think that they can do everything while they stay up late. Some nights this is true. For those who can stay up late at night they thoroughly enjoy the benefits of an online degree because they can work on the degree entirely at their own pace. Some nights they can get millions of things accomplished. Did you know that when you are in an online school you can actually take a test during the night?

Wouldn’t you love the freedom and the flexibility of doing that?

The online college degree is fast, flexible and easy. Would you qualify for the degree? If you are good at researching independently, studying for tests independently and taking open book tests, then you are ready to get an online degree. Online degrees are a great way to gain information about the world out there without sitting in a single classroom.

Many employers are starting to favor the benefits of having an online degree. They find that those who participate in online degrees are great to hire because they are a great part of the community and are excellent with communities. They are also finding that those who work in online degrees are great to hire because they can work independently. If you meet these qualities sign up for your online college degree now.